The Missing Link
by Skyward Princess of Time
Summary: After a tragic accident that left her partner permanently disabled, sassy art thief Zelda Haireed tries her best to continue working alone. Her attempts to "rescue" all "endangered" paintings are thwarted by the government's special assassins. Can this self-centered thief become a hero? One thing's for sure...anything is possible with time on her side. Zelink, AU.


***whistles innocently* I'm not writing a new story. I have no idea what you're talking about. (This is why I should just stick to oneshots. :P)**

…**I've got to be one of the most fickle authors ever. In my defense, I'd written this story (****and gave up on **_**Foundation**_**) awhile ago. This is actually an original work of mine. I just altered it to fit the Zelda universe and its characters. Because I was driving down the highway one day and decided that I wanted to. xD ****The idea of Link as the main male character was just far too appealing.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda. (I do thoroughly own the story of this AU though, you know the whole deal. xD)  
**_**The Missing Link **_**is rated "T" for some mild language, violence, and adult themes.**

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_**The Missing Link  
**__A Legend of Zelda Fanfiction  
__**The Injustice of Justice**_

"Hoo."

I smiled as I watched the awkward lanky kid observe the painting in front of him. He held one of those cheap plastic magnifying glasses that came in children's spy kits a centimeter away from the canvas. If you could get past the cheap goods, plaid vests, and glasses so thick they wouldn't break even if you dropped a brick on them, Shad was a pretty bright kid. He was teased mercilessly—high school was cruel like that—for his nerdy appearance by stupid assholes who forgot rule number one: never insult nerds. Because when they become your boss, well, then things get awkward. Besides, no one was more familiar with art history than Shad. He spent every waking minute in the library observing paintings in old books. There were rumors that the kid forged paintings in his spare time, but I doubted it. He was one of those pure goody-goody types.

He was nothing like me.

"So what do you think?" I asked in my business voice. I wanted to make sure that Shad didn't get the wrong idea. I was dressed in a rather short burgundy dress and I didn't want him to think we had anything going on between us. Our relationship was strictly platonic. We'd had many business dealings in the past. It was a simple business, really. I brought him works of art and he'd authenticate them. He was paid a handsome amount of dough not only for his work but also to keep his trap shut.

"This is _The Adoration_," he breathed in marvel. "I can't believe this…Zelda…where did you get your hands on this?"

So it was the _Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence_. I was right.

"You know I can't answer that," I said, placing myself strategically in-between him and the painting. I covered it back up with an old blanket my mother knitted me when I was a child. I gave a small smile, stroking the innocent doll and block patterns lovingly. Even though the blanket had been through hell and back, it was still very important to me. It still smelled like nutmeg and lilyflowers. _Just like her_. After a pause, I turned back towards Shad—I didn't want him to think I was one of those introspective loner type girls—and played with a stray dirty blond curl that never wanted to stay in a ponytail despite my best efforts.

"I know, I know," he said, slouching against the table, glasses knocked askew from the shock. Flabbergasted, he stuttered incoherently a few times, wiping furiously at the bits of dust on his clothes before finally managing to put together a fluid thought. "You've brought me some interesting things in the past. But this…this is on HBI's most wanted list. It's rumored to be worth twenty million rupees, at least! It was rumored to be stolen by-"

"The Twili Mafia," I finished. "The HBI has received several different reports. Some claim it was actually stolen by amateurs. Even some ex-members of the Mafia have claimed either to have stolen the painting or at least know its location."

"So?" Shad couldn't hide his interest. He was like a puppy with a treat dangling in front of his face. I'm not just saying that to be witty and metaphorical. He literally crawled over to me and panted with his tongue dangling out of his mouth. I considered not saying another word, but I couldn't help but smile.

"Let's just say the Twili Mafia isn't completely off-base."

I grinned again, letting Shad have a moment with the beauty. It's not like he'd steal it, he was far too much of a brownnoser to do so. Besides, if he did actually take it, well, I'd just get it back again. People could steal from me as much as they'd like. As long as I walked the paths of Time, no one would ever be able to outrun or outwit me.

I walked away, making sure that I clomped loudly. I liked to wear heels when I made business deals. Not just because they look nice, but also because someone could always here me coming. And, let's face it, shall we? Stilettos could be an effective weapon if they needed to be. After I was well out of earshot, I pulled the things off, walking barefoot in the school lawn and letting the grass tickle my toes. Practical reasons asides, those so-called shoes were _not _made for walking. I so preferred walking barefoot. I resisted all urges to fall in the grass and look up at the setting sun. The painting was safe for now. Shad would probably drool and probably come up with some wild conspiracy theory about it until my contact came and retrieved it. The safest place for business was the old school. Everyone cleared out after four. Besides, every student that attended the school was ridiculously rich. They didn't need to steal from anybody.

I eyed the crystal pendant that I wore around my neck. The crystal still shone a harsh cerise instead of its normal gentle blue light. Oh well, I didn't need it now anyways. No, what I really wanted to do was take a bath. Pantyhose were itchy and I hated wearing red lipstick. Sure, it flattered me, but it wore off on everything. I pulled out my ages-old pink Razr and began to call my driver. Call me old-fashioned if you wish. I couldn't keep up with old technology, let alone the new fancy crap. Besides, I didn't want a Smartphone. They were too, well, _smart_.

"I thought I'd find you here."

I stopped abruptly in my tracks. With a wince, I tentatively looked away from my phone towards the sound of the voice. Great. Just splendid. Don't you hate it when you're trying to avoid someone and then they have the nerve to just show up? Maybe I'd try the whole 'I don't see you, I'm pathetically oblivious' trick and pretend I was texting…

He grabbed my arm gently as I attempted to walk away. I sighed, hitting the red button on my phone as I reluctantly turned to face him. If he had come a minute—that's all I'm asking for! One measly _minute_—later, I could have called my driver and I would at least have an excuse to bolt. But_ nooooo_….sometimes it was like he could read my mind.

…Oh. Right.

I cast an annoyed glance down at my necklace, which still shone a very disappointing red. The stupid thing always ran out of juice when I needed it most.

The _intruder _was a lot better looking than I with honey golden hair and bright blue eyes. He was one of those jerks who were hot and knew they were hot. He wasn't the tallest guy, maybe a couple inches taller than me. He was dressed in a casual green sweater—I'll admit, I always thought green looked freakin' fabulous on him—and a pair of khaki pants. I repressed a snort. He always dressed so homely when he attended college. He was wearing a pair of sharp black glasses, which always amused the daylights out of me. They were just for show. He had perfect vision. It almost looked like he was trying to pull off the "hot geek" look.

"Hey Link," I said softly. Sure, I was judging the crap out of him for his outfit, but I couldn't meet his eyes. My glance kept falling on his awkwardly limp left arm. His right hand was softly clamped around my wrist.

"What are you doing still at school, Zelda?"

"Studying," I mumbled, still refusing to meet his stare. I didn't even need to hear his reply to know that he didn't believe me. He always saw right through me. Link and I had been together since we were children. He was like a brother to me.

Yet, ever since _that day_…

"Cut the BS, Zel. You haven't studied for a minute in your life. What were you doing? Were you talking with Shad?"

"No," I said defiantly. I was going to convincingly lie to him, dammit. _That's right, Zelda. You can do it. Don't let stupid Link always win. You know how he gets. _The last thing I wanted to deal with was Link's ego. Good lord. His ego was the size of Hyrule. I opened my mouth, ready to give this elaborate lie how I was having a group "study" with a bunch of girlfriends for a (fake) test when Link sighed, relaxing his grip on my wrist with a shake of his head.

"Hello T," Shad said as he came up from behind me. "How are you doing? Did you come to pick Zelda up?"

Nice timing, Shad. I gave a small groan. That lie was a good one, too.

"I'm doing well, Shad, thanks. Yeah, Zelda and I are going home now," Link was obviously not in the mood for small talk and, unfortunately for me, seemed royally peeved about who-knows-what. He grabbed my left hand and practically dragged me away, dropping my hand for a moment to wave at Shad. Shad said a pleasantry as we left. I almost yelled at Shad to save me, reaching my arms out pathetically to him. Link was going to have my head for this. I closed my eyes, admitting defeat and after a fair bit of kicking and screaming, I let Link drag me down the side of the street. He led me to our favorite mom and pop café on the corner of 3rd and 53rd street.

We'd been going to the little café ever since we were little. It was an old-fashioned little cabin smushed right between two modern skyscrapers. The shingles were falling off and the paint was peeling, making the little cabin the restaurant that time forgot. It may be unappealing to most, but to Link and me, it was home. Renaldo and Telma, the elderly couple who owned the place, knew exactly what we ordered every single time. It may not be on Hyrule's top places to drink and you'd certainly never see anyone with a decent paycheck there, but it was always comforting to me. The food was baked with love and obvious care, and there was something so appealing about the playful arguments between the sexually charged wife and the gentle old man. The ancient wooden door gave a loud _squeak _as Link barged in, muttering a quick "the usual" to elderly Renaldo and practically dumping me into a chair missing half its back. I let out a gasp as I nearly toppled backwards, arms crazily flailing around until I regained my balance.

"Spill," Link said angrily, folding his right arm across his chest and giving a scowl. "What did you do? You know we're on leave right now. Besides, even if you are technically not supposed to be working, you can't do anything without me."

I fiddled with my coffee and dumped in obscene amounts of sugar.

Why the hell did he always know what I was thinking?

…Oh. _Right_.

"I was just asking Shad to take a look into something from a couple of years ago." I mumbled a reply as I took a sip.

Link sighed, fire burning in his eyes. I glanced back down, still refusing to make direct eye contact with him. He was angry with me. I got it. Really, I did. He had every reason to be angry from me. But still…

"I can't take it!" I cried suddenly, slamming my cup on the table and rubbing at the red lipstick stain furiously. Huh, now that I thought about it, the rim of the cup was stained pink. Telma must have finally realized that it was best to always give me the same cup so I didn't stain every single mug known to mankind. "Yeah, I get it. I'm not supposed to be working. But how the heck am I supposed to sit around and wait for the Company to give me an order?"

"You're putting yourself in danger," Link growled, leaning on the table. "It's too dangerous for you to be working. If you're working without the Company's consent, they're not going provide back-up should you fail. I don't even want to know what you got your hands on, Zel."

"_The Adoration_," I mumbled, my coffee cup at my lips. I braced myself for impact.

"The _what_!?" Link exploded, nearly knocking over the table as he bolted upright. He raised his left arm to strike me. I closed my eyes, waiting for the sting. To my surprise, after a moment's pause, Link composed himself and collapsed back into his chair. The matriarch of the café brought over a cup of his favorite tea, patting him on the back gently. She was more than used to our little, uh, _spats_. After a few minutes of awkward tension, Link broke the eerie silence.

"_The Adoration_. You stole one of the paintings on the HBI's most wanted list. That's uncharted territory, even for us. What the hell were you thinking?" He spoke in a quiet, lecturing tone.

"I didn't steal it," I protested. "I rescued it from the Twili Mafia. As far as the government's concerned, it's still MIA."

"You rescued it," Link said slowly, a look of mocking disbelief on his face. He narrowed his piercing blue eyes at me. "And what do you plan to do with it? I don't even want to know how you managed to steal it without me."

"_Rescue_," I corrected him. I put on a nauseatingly sweet smile. "I don't always need you, Link. It was simple, really."

And when I said it was simple, it wasn't simple at all. It was the hardest and most terrifying thing I'd ever done in my life. Sure, I'd done a few practice heists by myself before I went after the big one but it was horrifying. Seriously, you try conning your way into the Twili Mafia and then tricking the big boss to tell you where their greatest treasure was hidden. Still, I couldn't help but be proud of myself. I'd never really believed I could ever do a heist—especially one of this magnitude—without Link. I didn't ever want to rely on him anymore. I never wanted to take advantage of him again.

"Sure it was," Link said, obviously not believing me whatsoever. I could tell he was trying to come up with how I managed to steal it. He chewed his lip, a habit he always did when he was either deep in thought or nervous as heck. He finally gave up and shook his head, waving off the issue…for the moment. He'd eventually pry the truth out of me, just like he always did.

For those of you who are royally confused right now, staring at your computer screens with a blank expression—_HUH?—_let me explain. Yeah, I probably should have said this from the start, but where's the fun in that? My name is Zelda Haireed. I may seem like your typical beautiful, rich high school prom queen, but that couldn't be farther than the truth. I only go to school to keep up my cover, I could care less whether or not x+b=z or whatever the hell it's supposed to be. No, I really only cared about my job. Some of you may be saying, 'Gee, Zelda, stealing paintings doesn't sound like a quality job!' First of all, I don't steal paintings, I _rescue _them. And secondly…yeah, sure, it may not be up to legal standards, but it was certainly a lot of fun. Besides, the best work is often hidden in the private office of some rich person. I do them justice. I rescue the paintings and return them to the people. 'Well that's illegal," you say. Well screw the law, I say. The Justice system reeks worse than the boy's locker room. Besides, it's really hard to capture a robb—err, _rescuer—_when the crimes take place in a different time.

Time. That's right. It's all about time. I instinctively clutched my pendant in my head. The stupid thing was still red. It would have really helped me avoid this scolding if it worked earlier, thank you very much. Even though I was getting much better, it was still difficult to completely control the Time Pendant. Because…well…there's lots of time rules n'stuff. Who knows? I certainly don't.

…don't tell Link about it though, okay?

Speaking of Link, I should probably stop babbling to you guys—you'll understand more as the story goes on, just pay attention, got it?—and actually pay attention to the very angry blond boy in front of me. "Anyways, that doesn't matter right now. However…" he leaned in close to me, tilting my chin with his left hand and forcing me to look him straight in the eye, "…you didn't answer my question. What do you plan to do with the painting?"

I was forced to stare into his pools of blue, mind buzzing. Should I lie to him? No, that wouldn't work, Link would see right through me. Should I tell him the truth? No, Link would beat me upside the head with a frying plan. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Unless…

"I plan on using it as…motivation," I finally said quietly. Rule number one about lying (lying is bad, kids)…don't lie at all. Just don't say the full truth, either.

Link gave another deep sigh. How many sighs were we on? Five? Ten? One Hundred? I felt bad for him, he sighed when he was either frustrated or upset. My guess was that he was currently a combination of the two.

"Do you really want to start working again that badly, Missy?"

I frowned.

"You know I hate it when you call me that," I huffed, my bottom lip puckering out in an indignant pout. Seriously, what kind of a code name was 'Missing'? Yes, you read that right. My codename was missing. As in, the kid is _missing_. The _missing _link. Because the Boss thought that was witty. Link nicknamed me "Missy" a long time ago. Even that's annoying. You'd associate "Missy" with a bratty child or a pretentious rich girl.

"So you're allowed to call me Link even when we're off work and yet I can't call you Missy. I'm _missing _the picture here," Link smirked. My pout quickly turned into a glare as I smacked his legs—I couldn't ever bring myself to smack his arms since, well…that time—with my purse. Yeah, he had a point. Technically speaking, I wasn't supposed to call him by his codename when we were off-duty, well, because that kind of ruined the point of having a secret codename.

"Fine, if you want it that way, Mr. T-" I couldn't bring myself to say it. I didn't really know what was wrong with me, but it had been this way for ages. Sure, I knew I was kinda jeopardizing our identities by insisting calling him Link instead of his real name, but I…couldn't. It was like something inside me kept from saying his real name.

Besides, in my defense, his first name was a tongue twister. Seriously. No one could pronounce it. I bet even his mother didn't even know how to say it and she was the one who gave him the ridiculous name in the first place.

He tried to hide it, but I could see the downcast look in his eyes. It hurt him when I didn't call him by his real name. I got it. I never wanted to hurt him. But…whenever I said the name—butchered it, I mean—I just…

"Let's move on," I said quickly, waving my hands frantically as if I was a cheerleader making spirit fingers. I took a big swig of my tea, cleared my throat loudly, and rubbed at the lipstick stain that never wanted to come off. "I believe you were reprimanding me about the painting."

Link gave yet another heavy sigh—I was beginning to lose count—and made no motion to stop my obvious effort to change the subject. He looked off into the distant rustic apartment building like he always did when he was deep in thought. "Do you really want to resume work that badly, Zelda?" He repeated his question from before.

I chewed thoughtfully at my lip, once again the debate playing out in my mind. It was like having the little devil and angel on my shoulders.

I don't know about you, but in those internal arguments I always end up siding with the devil.

"Yeah," I finally said. I held up my hands and shrugged my shoulders. "You got me, Link. I concede defeat. I couldn't stand not working."

Well…that was partially true. I did want to resume work, but not because I was in it for the thrill of the hunt. Work was not something that really excited me like some of my other coworkers, although I couldn't deny the spark that lit up my body whenever I was on the job. It was just that work made me relevant. It gave me a place in this messed up world.

Link stared at me for a moment, blue eyes narrowing, before he finally responded softly.

"He just uses you, y'know."

My own eyes narrowed as I saw red. Link knew better than to bring that up with me. I've told him a million times that I was never used. That I worked for the Company by my own choice. That the Boss…loved me. No matter what. I opened my mouth to reply, but the only words that formed were various curse words and I wasn't in the mood to have a shouting match with Link. There was a lot more to discuss, but now wasn't the best time. I dropped some cash on the table and stood up without saying a word, adjusting my purse and giving Link a cold glare. My silence was my answer. I was about to leave, trying to ignore my buzzing mind, when suddenly Link grabbed my arm.

"Leggo," I growled. Now, I know all of you girls out there know that boys are denser than a brick when it came to subtleties and emotions, but Link knew me. Whenever I walked out, I was pissed. Trying to stop me only made me more pissed. I'd like to say I was pretty level-headed, well, when I took a step back and removed myself from the situation for awhile. I didn't like blowing up at people.

I especially didn't like blowing up at Link.

"Quiet," He snapped, pulling me back down into my chair. I shot him a very nasty look, opening my mouth to curse at him loudly when he pulled me close to him suddenly, placing a finger over my lips.

"I said shut up, you moron." His breath was warm against my face. I started to pull away—after all, even though he was much stronger than me, he only had a one-arm grip—when I put my raging teenage emotions aside and just sensed for a moment. Something was off. I looked into Link's eyes. His eyes were filled with caution and concern. I knew that look.

Seekers.

Before I carry on with the good stuff, lemme explain. The Seekers, oh, forgive me, the Special Efficient Excellent Kind Energetic Robust Sentries, are the sorcery police force in Hyrule, employed by the DSA. Yes, I know the name is completely lame and incredibly forced. They don't have the brightest bulbs in that department. You'd think they'd at least come up with something more creative. Anyways, the DSA, or the Department of Sorcery Affairs, is the section of the government responsible for "maintaining a proper relationship with the sorcerers while ensuring peace and stability across Hyrule." Yeah. A bunch of horseshit, that is. The DSA is responsible for murdering or imprisoning anyone capable of sorcery. I'll explain sorcery throughout the story. It's kinda hard to explain it all in a single exposition paragraph. It's complicated. It has to do with science and atoms and bears and…yeah. Stuff. Besides, well, I hate introductions. You're all smart. Just pay attention and you'll figure it out.

Anyways, if the whole manipulate-time part wasn't obvious, I'm a sorcerer. Oh, by the way, Link's a sorcerer too. Thanks to the nature of my power—I can only manipulate time when I have the pendant, and as you've already seen the pendant has a mind of its own—I can usually evade sorcerer checks. Besides, for the most part, the Seekers are freakin' stupid. Well…at least…they used to be.

I shot a nervous glance at Link, whose look of caution turned into determination. We never really had to worry about the Seekers in the past. Sure, they were annoying and a pain in our asses, but they were just like any other militant force in an oppressed nation. If you knew the correct answers to their questions, you were fine. However, ever since the incident a year ago, the Seekers found out a little more than they were supposed to. Ever since then, their visits were no longer a routine and merely bothersome. We were in trouble, especially since Link and I were together. Seekers usually were pretty predictable, but we must have overlooked this particular go-around. That, or…

I shuddered. I didn't even want to think about that.

"Darling Peony," Link said, kissing my left hand gently with a romantic twinkle in his eyes. "I am so happy you and I are together. I think about you every single day. I can't bear any moment without you." His voice was sing-songy and his tone dripping with sappiness you'd find in a bad rendition of Romeo and Juliet, but it was perfect. He was in character.

"Oh, sweet Danny," I said, making sure my voice was just as lovey-dovey. "I need to be with you. I yearn for you. This café…this café is where we first professed our love on that day a week ago. Do you remember? I was wearing this dress…" I squeezed his left hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a Seeker talking to the owners of the café. I made sure "Danny" and I kept up the act. The trick to a successful act was to be noticeable, yet not noticeable at all. No over-the-top performances, just…natural. We were that stereotypical lovesick young couple that made everyone barf from the cheesiness.

I also had to pay attention to the types of questions the Seeker was asking the café owners. So far, everything was good. We still didn't know exactly how much information was leaked to them during the incident, so we wanted to spy on them too. We had to know what they knew so we could come up with ways to combat it. I thought we were doing pretty damn well until I heard something, a statement that tore at my every fiber. I couldn't stifle my gasp.

"…_can't use his left arm."_

It was at that statement when one of the café patrons decided at that one moment to be a model citizen, telling the Seeker that he noticed that dear "Danny" didn't ever move his left arm. He thought it was strange, especially since he wasn't wearing a cast. Of course. The one time someone actually decides to do the right thing, it's not actually the right thing at all and…

Calm down, Zelda. I was attempting to force myself to relax but my anxiety was clearly showing. I was missing all subtle and even verbal clues from Link to calm down and stay in character. How did they know Link couldn't use his left arm? How long have they known that?

Everything was my fault.

"Peony, sweetums? Love, you're looking rather pale. You must know better than to be out in the rain. Your delicate frame can't handle the cold, doll." Link pulled me into a hug. Maybe I was more in-character than I thought, because Link's hug seemed so warm and comforting. Sure, I always loved being hugged by Link as he was my person, my protection, and my comfort, but this hug was different. This hug wasn't just one of protection. It was one that lit a fire in my heart. His grasp was so much firmer than before. It was like he was giving me a bear hug. I smiled internally, thinking of happier times when Link would scoop me up in both of his arms and…

My eyes bulged in shock when I realized what Link was doing. I opened my mouth to protest, to tell him that I could handle it and I was so sorry when Link cut me off with a harsh "Shh."

"Is there a problem, sir?"

God I hate the Seekers' voices. They talk like those automated answering machines. There was no voice inflection. It was like the person speaking wasn't even human. Then again, for one to be a Seeker, they either have to be really ignorant, spiteful, or deluded. But, that's beside the point.

"Not at all," Link answered smoothly, still in his obnoxious lovesick Romeo voice. "It's just that my dear Peony was feeling faint. She catches colds very easily, you see. I'm just warming her up."

I wanted to say something, but given my shocked state I figured I would be doing Link a disservice of chiming in. Besides…I was the reason he was hurt in the first place. If I'd just let him handle this from the start…

"Where have you been, young man?" the Seeker asked, obviously not caring for my "ill" state. I gave a little cough, seeing as I was unable—or rather, _unwilling_—to speak.

"Peony and I go to a private high school outside of the Ritz in Castle Town," Link said, his voice taking a brownnosing superior tone. He pushed up his glasses for good measure. "My parents are in the transportation service. She and I met here coincidentally one fateful day, so we come here often."

Nice one, Link. Another trick, if you're ever wanting to deceive someone (remember, lying is bad, kids) the trick is to give the right amount of details. If you come up with some specific details, they're more likely to trust you. Unless they're freakishly OCD or suspicious, most people won't bother to check if you're actually lying or not.

"That man was saying how you weren't moving you left arm." It wasn't a question. The Seeker also didn't even seem to care about Link's previous answer.

I bit my tongue, looking away from the Seeker as I couldn't hide my look of shame.

"Oh, that? I'm right-handed," Link responded casually. "I dislike any form of activity. Call it laziness if you must."

While that was certainly plausible with this generation, the Seeker didn't seem to buy it. Instead, he pulled out some technological device I'd never seen before.

"Let's see it," he said. I wanted to protest. I wanted to tell him no. But if I refused on Link's behalf…they'd suspect something. Link had to go through the test.

Link kept his face neutral, placing his left arm on the strange device. The Seeker wrapped some sort of blood-pressure type thingie around Link's arm and pressed a button. I swore I saw an electric current shock through Link's left arm. After a few shocks, the Seeker grabbed Link's arm and began to test the limbs, forcing Link to lift and bend his arm in unnatural positions. Some test. Even a normal, healthy person could find pain in twisting your elbow. I didn't even know you could legitimately twist your elbow.

Link's face remained neutral. He even kept his face blank on the elbow twist. I gave Link so much credit. He was amazing. I knew that hurt like hell. More than that. I'm sure his arm felt like it was on fire.

Five minutes of limb bending and electric currents seemed like an eternity. Finally, _finally _the Seeker stopped testing Link's arm.

"Are you done now?" Link asked snootily. "If my father heard about this," he muttered into his cup breath cool against the warm liquid, sipping his tea—using his _left _arm of all things—with an audible "AH".

The Seeker just stared. I knew that look. The Seeker was completely suspicious. I knew he suspected something was off yet didn't have enough evidence to prove it. How quaint. Even the Seekers had some sort of standard. It almost gave me hope.

After a long moment's pause, The Seeker said nothing and walked away, obviously unhappy with the results. Link passed his little "test". After his departure, Renaldo slammed his teapot down, the usually passive man boiling with rage, screaming at the snitch of a man who ratted out Link. They began to argue about the definition of "hot tea," the rat unable to recognize the owner was pissed he subjected Link to that torture. Telma ran over to Link, draping a blanket over his shoulders and giving him a tight squeeze.

I wanted to say something to Link. I knew the last five minutes were hell for him, and yet I could do nothing. I could only sit there and watch.

"Oh sweetheart," the kind elderly lady said. "You poor boy. That test is inhumane, I don't know why that's considered justice…"

"Thank you, Telma," Link said quietly. "I appreciate everything you have done for Zelda and me." He shuddered under the blanket. For a second, his blue eyes cast a beautiful rainbow gold. He was fading, fast. I didn't know how much longer he could keep up the act.

"Link…" I whispered. I rubbed the top of my right eyebrow and stroked my left eye gently with my left index finger, our visual sign that Link was about to lose control. He nodded at me, legs nearly giving out from underneath him. I reached for him but he pulled away, leaving me with nothing except the hand-knitted wool blanket Mrs. Kearny made. Link dropped a couple of rupees onto the bar in front of Mr. Kearny who was still deep in an argument about tea leaves and the importance of fine china and who knows what. I muttered thanks of my own, bolting after him.

I flung open the door, hoping to catch a glance of Link. The Seeker was nowhere in sight, thank heavens, who knows where he went. Unfortunately, Link wasn't anywhere to be seen either. I sighed, leaning against the door, still holding the soft blanket in my hands. I sniffed it gently, smelling the homey scent of nutmeg and potpourri candles.

"Link?" I called softly.

His response was a hollow scream.

* * *

**A/N**

**So there we have it! If you're confused, that's okay. You should be a little perplexed. xD I played around with what I wanted to reveal and what I didn't. Originally this was much more ambiguous, but I thought that would be too confusing, so I let you in on some details. I still kept a fair bunch hidden, because, as Zelda said, where would the fun be if I told you? ;)**

**I wrote most of this a few months ago. I did make some significant changes, but I hope it's not obvious that this was written at different times. **

**I don't normally write exclusively in first person, so this was different for me. I am appreciating the sassy Zelda, though. **

**Please leave a review! They always make my day, especially when I'm experimenting with my writing. I hope you're enjoying the story and I'll see you in the next chapter! (Whenever that may be, LOL. xD)**


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